There has been no new comment from Barlow. However spokespeople for the star have previously said that he pays a "significant" amount of tax.

Politicians from across the political spectrum have called for Barlow to be stripped of his OBE, awarded in 2012.

"People who have seriously abused the tax system should be stripped of their honours," Conservative MP Charlie Elphicke told the Times.

"People who don't pay the taxes that they should undermine the economy, damage our public services and place an extra, unfair burden on hard-working families and companies who play by the rules," Liberal Democrat chief secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander said.

Barlow "might want to show a bit of contrition by giving back his OBE," Labour MP and chair of the public accounts committee Margaret Hodge added.

HMRC insisted they would continue to take a tough line against aggressive tax avoidance.

"HMRC has put in place generous reliefs to support genuine business investment and our tax reliefs for the creative industries work well, enabling the UK’s world-class film, television and video production companies to compete on the global stage," a spokesperson said.

"But we will not tolerate abuse of the system by people trying to dodge their tax obligations. HMRC will continue to challenge in the courts and anyone who engages in tax avoidance schemes risk not only the high cost of these schemes but also lay themselves open to penalties and, potentially, prosecution."